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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat_9:9
9As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector's booth; and He said to him, " Follow Me!" And he got up and followed Him.
Mat_9:9 "As Jesus went on from there" Mat_9:9-17 are expressed in more detail in the other Synoptic Gospel parallels, Mark 2 and Luke 5.
▣ "He saw a man called Matthew" From Mar_2:14 and Luk_5:27 we learn that his other name was Levi. This does not imply that he was a priest or a Levite. Jews often had two names, one Jewish and one Greek, given to them usually at birth. This is the disciple to whom authorship of this Gospel is attributed. Jesus may have chosen him because of his gift of keeping meticulous records or as a way of showing His love to all people, even tax-collectors!
▣ "sitting in the tax-collector's booth" Capernaum was located by the Sea of Galilee between the jurisdictions of Philip the Tetrarch and Herod the Tetrarch. Therefore, the taxation would be between the areas of Syria and Judea. The office of tax collector was purchased from the Herodian or Roman authorities. It was often done with the implied suggestion that all of the extra revenue which was collected would be the wage of the one having the office. This was notoriously practiced in Jesus' day and, therefore, the office had become a synonym for evil and exploitation. Tax-collectors were certainly not welcome at the local synagogue or in Jewish society.
▣ "'Follow Me!'And he got up and followed Him" This was probably not the first time Matthew had heard Jesus. Apparently he had been exposed to Jesus' teachings on many occasions and this was the culmination of an official call (present active imperative) of a rabbi to a follower to come and be a full-time disciple (cf. Mat_4:19; Mat_4:21).